


Hunger

by imaginary_golux



Category: The Goblin Emperor - Katherine Addison
Genre: F/F, Kissing, Pining, Sailing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:53:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29764749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaginary_golux/pseuds/imaginary_golux
Summary: Shaleän has always hungered for the sea - now there's something on shore that draws her, too.
Relationships: Shaleän Sevraseched/Shaleän Sevraseched's Wife
Kudos: 14
Collections: February Ficlet Challenge 2021: Apocalypse No





	Hunger

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Archduke and the Glorious Dragon](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18815917) by [imaginary_golux](https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaginary_golux/pseuds/imaginary_golux). 



Shaleän loves her time at sea: the rush of the wind, the sway of the deck beneath her feet, the smell of salt, the way the water chuckles against the bow of the _Glorious Dragon_. The vicious glee of battle, and the glow of victory as her crew sets free another little horde of captives from another slaver’s holds. She would not give up her ship for anything.

But there is always a hunger while she is out on the water, one that even the surprisingly good meals her ship’s cook turns out cannot sate, one that no joyful moment in the crow’s nest as the wind whips her braids back, no snarling fury as she cuts down another filthy slaver, no quiet awe as she watches the sunset turn the sea to silver, can truly distract her from.

It used to be, when she was younger, that Shaleän hungered for freedom. For something outside the confines of the house she and her sisters shared; for the wide-open ocean and the chance to be someone she created herself, someone fierce and bold and dangerous, someone _wild_. And then she went out into the world, stowed away on a sailing ship and talked the captain into letting her be a cabin boy, worked her way up through the ranks on half a dozen ships and saved her pay and learned everything everyone would teach her, until finally she had her _Glorious Dragon_ and a crew any captain would be proud of and the freedom she’s always desired -

And now she hungers for the shore. Well, not for _shore_ , per se; for what’s _on_ shore. For a little house in Solunee-over-the-Water, and a low voice singing in Anvernin, and the way Vano’s golden eyes light up when she sees Shaleän in the doorway. The softness of Vano’s fur, and the warmth of her arms, and the soothing rumble of her purr as they lie tangled together in the big bed that only just barely fits two large women.

Shaleän will never give up the sea, not until she is ancient and grey and cannot lift her cutlass, but now, there is always something drawing her back home again, to sate that hunger with her Vano’s kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the FFC prompt "Famine," and beta'd by my glorious Best Beloved, Turn_of_the_Sonic_Screw.


End file.
